ESPN’s Peters discusses the Red Wings’ ‘prospect pipeline’

ESPN’s Chris Peters ranked each and every one of the NHL’s 31 teams’ “prospect pipelines” as part of an Insider story…

5. Detroit Red Wings

Top prospect: Filip Zadina, RW

A strong 2018 draft that saw Zadina, Joseph Veleno and Jonatan Berggren fall into Detroit’s lap bolstered a prospect core that has taken dramatic steps forward in recent years. Michael Rasmussen is another forward the club can be excited about, while defenseman Filip Hronek may be ready to take the next step. This system is starting to look more like that of a team committed to rebuilding.

And here’s what Peters said about the Wings’ prospects in his Atlantic Division prospect round-up:

Detroit Red Wings

A prospects: Filip Zadina, Joseph Veleno and Michael Rasmussen
B prospects: Jonatan Berggren, Dennis Cholowski, Filip Hronek, Jared McIsaac and Evgeny Svechnikov

One draft can really flip the script for a team, and that’s just what the 2018 event in Dallas did for the Red Wings. Hauling in surprise fallers Zadina and Veleno was fortuitous for a prospect pool that needed an injection of high-end talent. There was also the underrated selection of Berggren in the second round, which I think is going to look good in a few more years.

Zadina has star-winger potential and Veleno has clear NHL upside to potentially be a strong middle-six center for the team down the line. The same is true of Rasmussen, who has battled through injuries but absolutely exploded during the WHL playoffs last season, renewing some faith in the promise he had shown previously.

Meanwhile, I still think Cholowski can be a solid defender for the Red Wings, but might require some extra patience for an honest shot. Hronek is also looking closer to NHL-ready on the back end after a strong AHL season. For some other prospects, we’re still in wait-and-see mode. That is most true of the skilled Svechnikov, who just hasn’t been able to break through yet. He’s only 21 and has two years of AHL service time. This is a big season for him.

The Red Wings are starting to set themselves up better for the future. Another big draft like the one they just had would certainly help. It’s probably not going to be a terribly exciting season for the NHL team, but watching the youth take more of a hold on the franchise is going to be awfully intriguing to watch.

2018-19 NHL-level impact prospect: Filip Zadina
2018-19 breakout prospect: Dennis Cholowski

Continued (paywall)…